D-O-N-E

Oh hey, what's up, I'm done with chemo.

!

It's pretty great. This week is the first week since the beginning of March that I'm having to work five whole days, but fortunately I'm so glad to be done I don't even mind. I'm through the worst of my final week's fatigue, and supposedly things will "get better fast," according to my perennially cheerful oncologist. The last week or so I've had a few sore fingertips and still have the dry bloody nose that has been around every day for the past twelve weeks, but it is slowly improving. Other than that, I'm pretty much okay. I am so grateful to have gotten through this without neuropathy, which some people really struggle with a lot even on the weekly dose. I'm continuing to take my glutamine and B-6 supplements until they run out just in case, which will probably be another few weeks.

Now onto radiation! I met with the radiation oncologist last week and will go in for my simulation next Monday, where they measure me and set up the machines to target the area. The doctor told me she's pretty sure I will only have to do 4 weeks, which would be fantastic, although she can't say for sure until after the simulation. Most people say the skin problems with radiation don't really start until after week 3, so hopefully by only doing 4 weeks I will be done before any of that gets too bad. They have a lot of data, she claims, that shows 4 weeks is just as effective as the more traditional 6 to 7 (presumably they adjust the dose to compensate for the shorter time period), and the most recent data shows the results are even a little better. Either way, it sounds like I will be through the active treatment phase by the end of July. Except for Herceptin, obviously, which I will keep getting every 3 weeks until March, but everyone at the Cancer Center claims I will not have any significant side effects from it, and with the regular schedule at least I'll be able to make plans for the future and have a somewhat normal life again.

We are going to Copenhagen in September NO MATTER WHAT.